34,000+ miles in 2.5 weeks through 6 cities in 3 countries

Sometimes you imagine, or even go so far as to fantasize [about] an extravagant vacation, and leave it at that. An entertaining dream that you are reminded of each time you flip by the Travel channel at home, catch a glimpse of an airline ad on the side of a billboard, or find yourself staring at an obtrusive Flash promo for a vacation package on a website.

I did all that. Like the average mid twenty year old, I had only scratched the surface of traveling for vacation. I have visited California… a puddle jump away from Seattle. I had gone International. Then again, driving 2 hrs. to the Canadian border is well, like driving to Portland. I assumed that my real travels would not happen until the later half of this century.

Fortunately, my assumption was all wrong. I had a rare opportunity to travel [now]. A real vacation that would take me outside of the country and into a completely different world. An opportunity to experience food, culture, and people in three countries – Vietnam, Thailand, and Korea.

It has been a full week after the fact. 34,000+ miles flown / driven in 2.5 weeks through 6 cities in 3 countries. Sans jet-lag and body / mind fully recovered, I can now sit down and share thoughts, highlights, sights, and experiences.

Pre-departure preparation and planning

Malaria laden mosquito’s, street vendor food triggered travelers diarrhea, and extreme hot / humid weather. Call Syl and I overly cautious, but [looking back] we were "duped" hook, line, and sinker into believing that we were putting ourselves into a very vulnerable situation concerning all things health related. Not that the change of environment would have an impact, but the local Travelers Clinic did a real good job of instilling "worry / caution". "Don’t eat street vendor food." "Going outside? Apply a layer of sunscreen, a second layer of bug repellent (anything with Deet), and a third layer of sunscreen." "X country has [insert disease name], we recommend [insert medication]."

By the time we had left the clinic, we an additional $400 hole in our wallets to cover vaccinations and medications. Did we end up needing everything? Not really. Was the peace of mind worth it? Of course.

Discuss - 24 Comments

Wicked post and some really nice pictures! I was literally in Nha Trang at the very same time, even on Vinapearl island… did you go in the water park? And the sailing club?
Anyway keep it up and thought you might want to have a look at my travel blog, got some nice features like a geo-tagged picture map etc that’s all fed from a nokia n95 and WiFi, let me know what you think…